SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Dell Inc., the world's No. 2 personal-computer company, said Thursday that it will begin selling PCs on the shelves of retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., in a deal that breaks with its longtime direct model of making computers on order for customers.

Desparate or finally smart since a lot of people want to buy a computer they can see and touch and look at. If a lot of people buy computers at Walmart, Best Buy, circuit city, etc.. might as well put your product out there.

This is a new market for them. They need growth. Will it eat a bit of their direct to consumer market? A little. However, they will also sell to people who want to touch and see the computer they are buying first. It's a good move to add some growth.

When AAPL announced they were going to deploy kiosks in some malls, the shorts were saying Apple was desperate and that rolling out kiosks was "proof" that the Apple Store business model wasn't working.